Prokofiev typically applied opus numbers to his compositions, but this effort, a transcription based on Schubert waltzes, carries no such identifying tag, perhaps an indication the composer viewed this derivative work as somehow standing apart from his original compositions. Prokofiev had been prevailed upon by concert promoters in the United States to include works of the Classical era in his piano recitals. The idea for arranging this collage of waltzes to meet that request came from Stravinsky, who had suggested to Prokofiev that he search through the waltzes and ländlers of Schubert for source material. Prokofiev assembled some that struck him as the most rewarding and arranged them into a suite.

He used a number of waltzes and employed several of them as a sort of refrain. Most of the source material is light and jaunty, although, for contrast, Prokofiev inserted two sections that feature more delicate, almost nocturnal waltz music. Still, the mood throughout is light, the music a mixture of elegance and festivity. The writing will strike the listener as pure Schubert, hardly a surprising feature though, since Prokofiev declared that he left the original music's textures and harmonies virtually untouched. In the two-piano version, however, made for a small touring ballet company, he changed some of the harmonies, added contrapuntal features, and made other fairly significant changes, thus allowing his own unique voice to be heard along with Schubert's. In the end, both versions come across as deftly wrought, medley-like arrangements that will appeal to a wide audience. Typically, this work has a duration of about nine minutes.

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